ABSTRACT
Abalones belong to the Phylum Mollusca, Class Gastropoda, Family Haliotodea and Genus Haliotis. All abalones are benthic rock dwellers, moving relatively short distances throughout their life span. Abalone’s are often dubbed “white gold” after the pearly underflesh of the snails. They’re relished in restaurants in China and all over South eastern countries in Asia. The abalone take seven years to reach maturity and are then harvested, processed, and packaged for export in different forms: dried, canned, and frozen. Major abalone shell uses include headache, dizziness, red eyes, nebula, dim vision, glaucoma, and night blindness. The inner surface of the abalone shell emits dazzling multicolored pearl-like luster, which is the secreted abalone nacre and which is supposed to have amazing healing properties according to Chinese herbal medicines. Abalone viscera contains several polysaccharides. There are many different methods of drying an abalone, but the most extensively applied method is the sun drying method.
